At the last Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce luncheon of 2012, members were presented with “Mint Hill Fire Department: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow; the challenge of keeping up,” by MHVFD Chief John Phillips.

The luncheon was held at Jimmie’s Restaurant on December 20, and after new members Pottery 51 and Cole’s Comfort Heating and Air were welcomed, Chief Phillips began his presentation, starting with the history of the department.

Phillips himself joined the department in 1974 at the age of 16, and he presented statistics of population, fires, and area of service from 1971 to the present.

He spoke briefly about the embezzlement case which has been a “black cloud” over the organization recently.

“We don’t dwell on it, but we don’t back away from it at the same time, because it is a situation that did happen, and we’re very remorseful, we’re very sorry that it did,” Phillips said.